Create, read and edit a PowerPoint file in UWP

13 Jun 20247 minutes to read

You can create or edit a PowerPoint file with the Syncfusion UWP PowerPoint library. The below are the steps.

Create a PowerPoint file in UWP

Step 1: Create a new C# UWP application project.

Step 2: Install the Syncfusion.Presentation.UWP NuGet package as reference to your .NET Standard applications from NuGet.org.

NOTE

Starting with v16.2.0.x, if you reference Syncfusion assemblies from trial setup or from the NuGet feed, you also have to add “Syncfusion.Licensing” assembly reference and include a license key in your projects. Please refer to this link to know about registering Syncfusion license key in your application to use our components.

Step 3: Add a new button in the MainPage.xaml as shown below.

C#

<Page
    x:Class="CreateUWPPowerPoint.MainPage"
    xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
    xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
    xmlns:local="using:CreateUWPPowerPoint"
    xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008"
    xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
    mc:Ignorable="d"
    Background="{ThemeResource ApplicationPageBackgroundThemeBrush}">

    <Grid>
        <Button x:Name="button" Content="Create Document" Click="OnButtonClicked" HorizontalAlignment="Center" VerticalAlignment="Center"/>
    </Grid>
</Page>

Step 4: Include the following namespaces in the MainPage.xaml.cs file.

C#

using Syncfusion.Presentation;
using Windows.Storage.Pickers;
using Windows.Storage;

Step 5: Include the below code snippet in the click event of the button in MainPage.xaml.cs, to create a PowerPoint file and save the PowerPoint document as a physical file.

Create Presentation instance:

C#

//Create a new instance of PowerPoint Presentation file
IPresentation pptxDoc = Presentation.Create();

Add a new slide

C#

//Add a new slide to file and apply background color
ISlide slide = pptxDoc.Slides.Add(SlideLayoutType.TitleOnly);

Apply Background

C#

//Specify the fill type and fill color for the slide background 
slide.Background.Fill.FillType = FillType.Solid;
slide.Background.Fill.SolidFill.Color = ColorObject.FromArgb(232, 241, 229);

Add title content:

C#

//Add title content to the slide by accessing the title placeholder of the TitleOnly layout-slide
IShape titleShape = slide.Shapes[0] as IShape;
titleShape.TextBody.AddParagraph("Company History").HorizontalAlignment = HorizontalAlignmentType.Center;

Add description content:

C#

//Add description content to the slide by adding a new TextBox
IShape descriptionShape = slide.AddTextBox(53.22, 141.73, 874.19, 77.70);
descriptionShape.TextBody.Text = "IMN Solutions PVT LTD is the software company, established in 1987, by George Milton. The company has been listed as the trusted partner for many high-profile organizations since 1988 and got awards for quality products from reputed organizations.";

Add bullet points:

C#

//Add bullet points to the slide
IShape bulletPointsShape = slide.AddTextBox(53.22, 270, 437.90, 116.32);
//Add a paragraph for a bullet point
IParagraph firstPara = bulletPointsShape.TextBody.AddParagraph("The company acquired the MCY corporation for 20 billion dollars and became the top revenue maker for the year 2015.");
//Format how the bullets should be displayed
firstPara.ListFormat.Type = ListType.Bulleted;
firstPara.LeftIndent = 35;
firstPara.FirstLineIndent = -35;
// Add another paragraph for the next bullet point
IParagraph secondPara = bulletPointsShape.TextBody.AddParagraph("The company is participating in top open source projects in automation industry.");
//Format how the bullets should be displayed
secondPara.ListFormat.Type = ListType.Bulleted;
secondPara.LeftIndent = 35;
secondPara.FirstLineIndent = -35;

Add an image:

C#

//Gets a picture as stream.
Assembly assembly = typeof(App).GetTypeInfo().Assembly;
Stream pictureStream = assembly.GetManifestResourceStream("CreateUWPPowerPoint.Assets.Image.jpg"); 
//Adds the picture to a slide by specifying its size and position.
slide.Shapes.AddPicture(pictureStream, 499.79, 238.59, 364.54, 192.16);

You can download the image used in the sample from here.

Add a shape:

C#

//Add an auto-shape to the slide
IShape stampShape = slide.Shapes.AddShape(AutoShapeType.Explosion1, 48.93, 430.71, 104.13, 80.54);
//Format the auto-shape color by setting the fill type and text
stampShape.Fill.FillType = FillType.None;
stampShape.TextBody.AddParagraph("IMN").HorizontalAlignment = HorizontalAlignmentType.Center;

Save and close the presentation:

C#

//Initializes FileSavePicker
FileSavePicker savePicker = new FileSavePicker();
savePicker.SuggestedStartLocation = PickerLocationId.Desktop;
savePicker.SuggestedFileName = "Sample";
savePicker.FileTypeChoices.Add("PowerPoint Files", new List<string>() { ".pptx" });
//Creates a storage file from FileSavePicker
StorageFile storageFile = await savePicker.PickSaveFileAsync();
//Saves changes to the specified storage file
await pptxDoc.SaveAsync(storageFile);
//Close the PowerPoint presentation
pptxDoc.Close();

You can download a complete working sample from GitHub.

The output of the above code example will generate the below PowerPoint slide.

Read and edit a PowerPoint file in UWP

You can edit an existing PowerPoint file using this library. The below code snippet demonstrates accessing a shape from a slide and changing the text within it.

C#

//"App" is the class of Portable project.
Assembly assembly = typeof(App).GetTypeInfo().Assembly;
//Open an existing PowerPoint presentation
IPresentation pptxDoc = Presentation.Open(assembly.GetManifestResourceStream("CreateUWPPowerPoint.Assets.Sample_UWP.pptx"));
//Gets the first slide from the PowerPoint presentation
ISlide slide = pptxDoc.Slides[0];
//Gets the first shape of the slide
IShape shape = slide.Shapes[0] as IShape;
//Change the text of the shape
if(shape.TextBody.Text == "Company History")
    shape.TextBody.Text = "Company Profile";
//Initializes FileSavePicker
FileSavePicker savePicker = new FileSavePicker();
savePicker.SuggestedStartLocation = PickerLocationId.Desktop;
savePicker.SuggestedFileName = "Output";
savePicker.FileTypeChoices.Add("PowerPoint Files", new List<string>() { ".pptx" });
//Creates a storage file from FileSavePicker
StorageFile storageFile = await savePicker.PickSaveFileAsync();
//Saves changes to the specified storage file
await pptxDoc.SaveAsync(storageFile);
//Close the PowerPoint presentation
pptxDoc.Close();

You can download a complete working sample from GitHub.

Click here to explore the rich set of Syncfusion PowerPoint Library (Presentation) features.

An online sample link to create a PowerPoint Presentation in ASP.NET Core.